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The objective of the study was to estimate the number of jobs created by sector of wood biomass used for the energy production. The study presents direct employment (the persons who are employed in the production of wood biomass, its harvesting, industry processing, transport or combustion), indirect employment (the employment in the related sections according to Polish Classification of Activites) and induced employment (the jobs created as a result of purchases of the persons directly employed in the biomass sector). The data used in the analyses were obtained from various official sources and statistics as well as previously published studies. The calculation included the whole area of Poland and focused on the data from the year 2012. The results lead to the conclusion that the direct employment in biomass sector in Poland in the year 2012 amounted 15.6 thousand jobs, of which 5.3 thousand in fuelwood harvesting and using. The indirect employment varied between 19 (by forestry sector) to 25 people (by public utilities sector) per 10 million PLN purchases by biomass sector. In turn, the induced employment amounted to 1.8 thousand employees, of which the largest share was observed for the education services section (29%), the manufactured products (19%), and human health services (17%). Sylwan 160 (10): 805-814

The article highlights the importance of geothermal energy in the dynamics of ice streams of the Warta ice sheet in Middle Poland against the background of other endogenous and exogenous factors. The basis of the presented views are data from literature, analysis of geological data archives and field observation of structures of glaciogenic sediments in Middle Poland. Until recently, the uneven spread of Pleistocene ice sheets in the Polish Lowland, which is resembled in lobes of various sizes, has been interpreted as caused by external factors, mainly the climate characteristics and relief barriers. The author proves that these factors should also include the influence of geothermal heat on the ice. The outline of ice lobes of the Warta ice sheet in Middle Poland and their hanging in the South, as well as activity of the ice streams which had formed them (e.g. their propensity to surge) are examples of dependency of the ice sheet from this stream of geothermal heat. Essential differences between its values occur on both sides of the Tornquist-Teysseyre zone. Higher values of flux heat in the Western European platform fluids compared with Eastern European platform meant that the lobes of the Warta ice sheet grew there much better, fostered by dominance of warm ice regime in considerable areas. Artykuł został opublikowany w "Znane fakty – nowe interpretacje w geologii i geomorfologii" pod red. A. Zielińskiego, Instytut Geografii UJK w Kielcach, s. 49-63.

The article analysis of EU and national legal acts regulating the energy prosumer and strategic documents affecting the development of distributed energy in Poland. The creation of a new law on renewable energy sources offers opportunities for the development of microinstallations in our country, but some changes are necessary. An important factor is the support system in the form feed-in tariffs, which should not be in the near future subject to change. Thanks to him according to the assumption of the 2020 uprising in Poland more than 200 thousand microinstallations.

The aim of this study was to assess the use of agricultural commodities for the production of bioethanol and biodiesel. The research was carried out on the basis of the reports of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture and the Energy Regulatory Office. Tabular and descriptive methods were used. Analyzes covered the years 2007-2013. The investigation performed shows that the rapeseed oil was the most common resource for biodiesel production, while for bioethanol it was corn seeds, ethanol and agricultural distillates.

As the access to the fossil fuels is limited, renewable energy sources have been especially intensively promoted in recent years, namely biomass. A comparatively large amount of biomass can be obtained from forests. This refers to round wood characterized by low technical quality, small−sized wood, and logging residues. Under Polish conditions, the potential amount of logging residues is estimated at 3−5 Mio. m per year, depending on different scenarios of their ulitization. Intense development of technologies for energy acquisition from the forest biomass has provided conditions facilitating the use of logging residues on an industrial scale. One of the possible solutions is bundling. In this process slash is compacted into cylindrical log−like units with diameter of ca. 65−75 cm and length of 2.5−3.0 m. The bundles can be forwarded to the roadside landing with standard forwarders and transported to the terminal or end−user with trucks utilized, first of all, by a round wood hauling. The John Deere slash bundler 1490D was the subject of the study. The basic unit of the bundling device was an eight−wheel forwarder. The study area was located in north−eastern Poland and comprised 10 selected plots. They represent coniferous stands, dominated by Scots pine with various fraction of Norway spruce and scattered birches. The aim of the paper was to estimate the basic technological and economic parameters of the bundling machine, working in clear cuts with two variants of logging residues concentration. In the first variant they were not especially accumulated, evenly distributed over the area. In the other one they were gathered into piles. The structure of a working day, work productivity rates, and the costs were determined. The bundler productivity rate depends largely on the extent the slash is prepared. When it is concentrated in piles, the machine does not have to travel over the entire work area to gather scattered material. In this case, the average productivity was 21.85 bundles/h. In the variant with scattered logging residues, work efficiency equaled 15.19 bundles/h. The hourly cost of the bundler use reached 289.42 PLN. The unit costs were at the level of 52.91 PLN/m (variant 1) and 38.54 PLN/m (variant 2). Sylwan 160 (1): 31-39

The subject matter of the essay is the tasks of the President of the Energy Regulatory Authority in relation to energy policy in Poland. The essay is divided into two parts. The first part presents basic information about the national regulatory authority, regulation and kinds of energy policy. The second focuses on the tasks of the President of the Energy Regulatory Authority in various areas, such as: energy effectiveness, energy security, renewable forms of energy and competition in the energy market. The article examines the tasks carried out by the President in the past and those which must come into force in the future to modernize the Polish energy market. Finally, the author thrashes out the legal relations between the functions of the President of the Energy Regulatory Authority and the aims mentioned in Polish energy policy. The author pays special attention to the problems of liberalisation in the energy market in Poland.

For several years, domestic electricity consumption has been growing (the average annual growth rate of electricity consumption for 2005-2010 is 2.75%). The increase in demand for electricity is related to the continuous development of the Polish economy, the enrichment of society and the growing, year by year, industrial production. It should be noted that electricity consumption is related to the GDP per capita, the general economic situation and the modernization of the economy. The following dataset shows that there is a correlation between electricity consumption per capita and the GDP of a given country. Therefore, it should be assumed that the Polish economy, which is developing despite the global financial crisis and the European crisis of public debt and the financial sector, will become an increasingly larger energy consumer.

Wood obtained from freshly cut trees has a high moisture content and therefore its mass per volume unit is higher than the mass of dry wood. The natural drying is a simple and effective method of weight (moisture content) reduction, making a better use of the vehicle's payload, and thus reducing costs, including environmental costs. The conclusion is based on simulations and analyzes attempting to evaluate different solutions. As evidenced, the drying process of logs depends on numerous factors, which entails attempts at development of an optimal logging method, especially concerning energy wood, allowing for maximum value growth in as little time as possible. The suggestions cover various forms of logging (of whole trees, long timber), arranging (in piles, bundles), storing (in stands, by the roadside near cutting areas), and protection. Combined methods such as storing under canvas for winter only or storing in cutting areas and later in piles at the exit road also work in practice, but require more funds because their cost is determined by the number of stages composing the whole process. In case of wood, development of an optimal and simultaneously universal method used to prepare the lumber for transport and its delivery with consideration of as little environmental impact as possible is complicated. The numerous variables, some of which cannot be controlled or affected, create a considerable scientific problem as well. The authors covered in the presented literature review often stress the role of specific weather conditions accompanying an experiment or its location, the storage method, or lumber dimensions in the drying process. Storage time is perceived as equally important, but it is a derivative more or less determined by the previous variables. Previous studies of drying at the cutting area have been focused mainly on energy wood and less on industrial wood. They analysed the results of long−term storage and did not stress the potential advantages of short−term drying. Furthermore, we do not have sufficient information on species, including forest trees, which have a lower share in the volume of the logged wood. Advanced research can help establish the minimum mass (moisture content) with considerable impact on supply chain effectiveness improvement or evaluated various storing and drying methods. We reviewed reports explaining the impact of various factors on natural drying of wood, models and storage effects, and analyzing potential economic and environmental benefits. Sylwan 161 (11): 898-908

The primary objective of this study is to signal some potential effects of the UE energy and climate policy for the Polish countryside. The changing of the climate-energy policy framework poses new challenges for rural areas. The question is - to what extent the climate and energy package will determine the transformation of rural areas. It is a very topical subject of reflection and requires in-depth analyzes of agricultural economists.

Architecture is a discipline combining aesthetics with technology. This paper is focusing on the relationship between aesthetics and energy efficiency in architecture with special interest in solar collectors and photovoltaic panels as technological equipment of the buildings. The paper takes into consideration the present situation and architectural development in northern Poland, with some input basing on European experiences. The paper defines aesthetics and efficiency in the field of architectural design as well as the use of public and urban spaces. Authors present also some case studies regarding the use of solar panels in selected architectural examples. The paper ends with summary and some conclusions including the need for further research in the field of architectural design, technology and product design, as well as the perception of urbanised spaces and the important field of economic and financial factors connected to the topic.